Welcome to the wild world of the wetlands right before sunrise. In order to get the full effect of this wild awakening, watch the video below.
Now I can show you why we came here so early in the morning. We came here to see this, a baby Sandhill Crane. Look at this little cutie hiding in the tall grass.
And here’s its sibling hiding just off to the left.
And of course mom and dad are here as well. They are busy trying to feed their cute little chicks.
And it looks like bugs are on the menu for breakfast. I think Timon and Pumba would fit in quite well here at the wetlands.
Oh, it looks like worms are on the menu too. Yummy! Its a tough life for these little birds and not because they have to eat bugs and worms.
They are pretty small and small fuzzy creatures like them are on the menu too. There are a lot of alligators here and baby Sandhill cranes are on the menu too.
And by the way, baby Sandhill cranes are called colts because they have such long skinny legs just like baby horses and this one looks like it is doing some nice early morning bird yoga.
Thankfully these colts have two parents who are watching out for thier safety because both of these little babies have a big world full of new things to see and new challenges to overcome such as trying to figure out how to get to that old piece of vegetation that is obviously taunting this poor little colt.
One of the colt’s takes the easy way out and goes for the lower piece of vegetation while the other decides to climb a small hill of grass thinking it can get a nice running leap but realizes in mid run that it has wings. I can fly, I can fly or not.
Gravity is a little too strong at the moment so a nice preening session seems like a better choice. Don’t forget to get under that tiny little nub of a wing. Might as well check the backside of that wing too. You wouldn’t want to miss that.
It is also a good time to discuss the important topics of the day such as: whose taller, why mom and dad keep feeding us bugs and whose this guy taking our picture?
And this early morning photo shoot wouldn’t be complete without some cute snuggling. This is one pair of siblings that seems to be getting along just fine!
All of this early morning activity has made one of the colts very tired. An early morning nap is long overdue. A belly full of worms and bugs mixed with that nice warm sunshine makes sleeping so much easier. Let’s see what else we can find while these babies take a break.
I have never seen a Purple Gallinule and Glossy Ibis stand together and talk. I guess there is a first time for everything. What a colorful combination.
A smaller alligator who has the right idea. A nice siesta in the sun and another alligator has made an appearance thanks to the warm sun.
My wife tells me that a Great Blue Heron has something large and as usual, my wife was right. This heron does have something big but what does it have? Could it a large chocolate glazed donut? I would say no. Whatever it is, it now has a firm grip on the back of the heron’s head but that won’t last very long.
Now we can clearly see what this heron has captured. This is a large Siren. In fact, I think this species is a greater siren. Sirens are the largest amphibians in the United States and this one can grow as large as 1 meter or 3 feet.
Very little is known about these creatures and this savage blue heron isn’t about to give up its tasty meal in the name of science. Let’s see if our baby Sandhill cranes are up and about.
It looks like nap time is over and that can only mean one thing, time to stretch those wings out and start looking for more food. Even at 5 days old, this little colt has learned how to probe the ground in search of food but why waste time searching for food when mom and dad keep providing tasty snacks! What’s on the menu now?
This morsel of food doesn’t look like a bug or a worm. Oh, those are frog legs, a true Florida delicacy that can be found on the menu of many Florida restaurants.
Not my favorite food and apparently not this colt’s favorite food either even though mom and dad have managed to whittle the entire frog down to a bite sized lump. This colt just doesn’t want frog for breakfast.
How about a big tasty grub? Now that is more like it. Much smaller and much easier for this colt to handle and it makes for an excellent picture.
It is amazing to see just how patient and gentle these large adult Sandhill cranes are. Good parents indeed and this is one happy colt too.
I wasn’t the only photographer on hand to see these little cuties. There were several of us there enjoying the magic and one of the locals had the Nikon 500mm PF lens. He asked me if I would like to try the lens and of course I said yes. He handed me his D500, I put my memory card in and took a few shots. By the way, thanks Michael for letting me use your rig to capture these next three shots.
Not only are these shots taken with the new Nikon 500 PF, there was also a Nikon 1.4 teleconverter on the lens and these images are crazy sharp. I’m not sure how Nikon did it but they managed to squeeze a lot of magic into a very small, very light brilliant 500mm prime lens. I didn’t want to give it back, but I did so reluctantly and when I got home, I immediately contacted my friends at B&H and placed an order for the lens.
And my last shot of these little cuties was back to my faithful D850 and my big heavy 500f4. I think the new 500 PF will be a welcomed addition to my D500! I can’t wait to give it a spin.
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